Tag: Keep Calm & Craft On

So since last we spoke, I was casting off the beautiful Akimbo blanket for a friend…I learned have also learned that there will be 5 new little ones by the time January gets here. So now it’s all baby blankets all the time!!

My sister-in-law is due first in October. I’m still deciding on what to knit for her little one. They are not going to find out if they are having a boy or a girl so I need to do something gender neutral and fun to knit. Here are the patterns I’m thinking about:

But for now, I went ahead and cast on an Autumnal Equinox Blanket. I’m using some Lion Brand Yarn Ice Cream Big Scoop in the Lemon Swirl Colorway. I added my hand in for scale…there are 1117 yards of DK weight yarn here!!

The construction is really cool. I started by casting on in a corner and increasing on one side to create a triangle. After I knit the first triangle, I will pick up along the hypotenuse and knit another triangle. I’m interested to see how the striping will develop.

Also, its a free pattern on Ravelry.

After these two I’ve got to figure out what to knit for a set of twins due in December and another baby due in January. Hopefully my needles will feel speedy 🙂

I know I showed you some very fun projects on Monday…the Turia Sweater and my Foggy Sunset Shawl as well as a Harvest Cardigan in the planning stages, but I’ve really been trying to get over the heel bump of these socks!

They are from Lara Neel’s Sock Architecture (knit your library!!) and are the Strie Socks, Toe Up. I’m using some Zitron Trekking in this fantastic Tobago colorway.

First off, let me tell you this is my first pair of toe-up socks. I thought that if anyone could teach me something new in sock knitting, it would Lara Neel and her amazing book. This book is awesome! There are so many different combinations of heels and toes…she talks about how to get the best fitting sock known to mankind…she even throws in some history about where certain heel techniques originated. The book is a great read through, but on to the bonus time! There are patterns and most of them are written for both toe-up cuff-down construction.

Anyway, I started these bad boys a while ago. The Magic Cast-On went alright. The toe increases were easy. I knit a foot! Yahoo! Then came time for the gusset increases. I did them. Or at least I thought I did. I attempted to turn a heel. It was coming out wonky, but I persevered and had one finished…that took 2 tries…then I started on the second one. I got to the place where I was starting to knit the heel flap and noticed that the smallest part of the little turn was not centered on the foot…I ripped back, tried again…couldn’t get it right. I ripped back again. So I did what any reasonable knitter would do.

I put them in timeout! I’d been spending about 2 days worth of my knitting time wrestling with these heels and I couldn’t figure out why the second one was even more challenging to get right than the first. I thought that things got easier as you practiced! Then I had another reasonable knitter moment.

I counted. The second sock was about 8 stitches short…meaning I didn’t work the gusset increases long enough…I held up the first sock with a heel and had a lightbulb moment…this heel was off center too…probably because I didn’t have enough stitches to start the dang thing…

Here begins the mild swearing and unraveling of yarn…I ended up pulling out the gusset increases I originally did because I did one side in the wrong spot…

Needless to say this time I’m counting my rows. Like any reasonable knitter would do. Here’s hoping I get these finished soon! My friend Korey is working on a mitered square sock yarn blanket and is dying for my scrap!!

Yep, I’ve been missing you guys!! I journeyed to Louisiana for a quick Thanksgiving weekend. Jordan and I had the most wonderful time. I was able to spend time with my adorable niece Payton and of course her parents, my Brother & Rachel, and my Mom.

She’s the cutest!! Still has those gorgeous blue eyes…one of the blessings my brother inherited 🙂

So I’ve been clicking away on an oldie-but-goodie that has been languishing on my needles for far too long, The Skinty Stripe Scarf.

I was supposed to finish this a while ago…I talked about it when I first started my blog even! There was UFO Wars that was supposed to motivate me. However, nothing has inspired me as much as finishing all other projects for people other than myself EXCEPT for this one thing!

That’s why this week I’m exclusively focusing on this scarf. Giving it a good effort, undivided attention, resisting the urge to cast on a second sock to the Bootstrap Socks or to cast on a hat for Payton using this Squirrel Chart or even just putting any sort of row on any of my WIPs…

So I like the little blurb about a WIP I’m dragging around with me until it’s finished. It brings a little focus to my world…keeps me from flinging myself head first into all the projects I want to cast on in favor of clearing off some needles, freeing up a few project bags, and ending up with a slowly expanding knitted wardrobe…except somehow all the little things I cast on are for other people. 🙂

I’ve been ticking away on the Who? hat for my niece Nora. I’m using Berroco Vintage in the lovely purple.

Those are some fun beads I found at Michaels. I wanted each owl-cable to have eyes because owls need eyes and I didn’t want to spend a thousand hours sewing on 16 eyes, so I hunted down some beads that look like eyes and slipped them onto stitches. A little tricksy but worth the discomfort on one row over sewing them all on individually.

Onto the question I mentioned…I’ve been slacking a bit on the Freshly Finished Friday posts. Mostly I don’t have anything finished to show off and it seems not many other bloggers do either. Perhaps it would be better to save it for a monthly post or do away with it all together? I’d love to hear what you think in the comments 🙂

Until next time.

❤
Jenna

Praying for those who are affected by the tragedies all over the world, specifically in Beirut & Paris, by those who have chosen to turn away from God.

Oh My Goodness…I’m still going on the sweater, but I keep getting swept up into hats.

Tiny hats. Medium hats. No large hats, but large shawls.

All of these things go quickly and are nice little fixes to my “WANT TO FINISH” all the knits all the time.

So I’ve put some rows on my Passe-Partout out of Manos Silk Blend. What a lovely single ply yarn…the pattern is the perfect mix of texture & stockinette. Keeps me interested, shows off the yarn and on size 9s…it’s flying! Maybe I can buckle down here shortly and end up with something perfectly snuggly before the weather gets snowy.

The tiny hat I started and completed on Saturday. I wanted to start it for a Gateway Knitters meeting I attended. The group has been working on baby knits for Nurses for Newborns…of course I’m behind the happenings since I haven’t been to a meeting since spring, but I wanted to try and contribute. I didn’t finish the Barley at the meeting but I was at the place to start the decreases by the end of the meeting. I wrapped it up waiting on dinner at my niece, Nora’s house. She’s 5 and loves to “help” me knit. We did a bit together, and I had her thread the last stitches thru with the darning needle. Then she wanted to sew…I guess I need to come up with some sewing cards for her…hello Christmas present idea!!

So of course, she wanted one too! I started another Barley right then…but it’s looking small. And I’m not so sure I will have enough yarn to finish her size. This one may become another charity knit.

I can’t leave my darling Nora with cold ears so I dug out some lovely Berroco Vintage in this sweet purple to start, what I thought was another Barley. As I got going, I realized I am not so sure I want to make another one just yet…that got me thinking about what to do. I tinkered with color work or a swirly pattern, then I came across the Who? pattern by Sara Amoroso. The tiny owl cable would be so cute…now I need to find buttons/beads for eyes.

That’s what my needles are busy with as I take a “short” break from Turia…don’t worry I’m not ready to give her up. I can’t want to! I want to wear it!

I feel like October has come and is almost gone before I even got used to writing the date. Volleyball season kicked into high gear, I traveled to a wedding, and overall, things have been pretty non-stop. Until Monday, the 19th, I had been ending every night very late after very full days…

But I’ve felt like I’ve been missing you guys! In the Knitting Blogosphere!! I haven’t been reading or commenting…my inspiration has been waning…and what a shame as its FALL!! The season of knitting.

So I thought I’d ease back in. On a Wednesday. With a little WIP update…

It’s a Barley hat for my neighbor, a charming free pattern from Tin Can Knits 🙂

I whipped up one for his darling daughter who is a little past her 1st birthday and had outgrown the one I knit her for her arrival into this world and I thought, hm, wouldn’t it just be fantastic if their whole family had matching hats?

I can see you shaking your head yes, and I am too! So I pulled out some Berroco Vintage Chunky in a lovely khaki that I’ve been hoarding, er, holding onto in my stash for a while and cast on for the largest size.

I made it about 4 inches and slipped it over my head. Now, I don’t have a large head, but this thing was huge!!! So I ripped it back, cast on 12 fewer stitches and have been merrily clicking along.

With any luck, I’ll have it finished soon and I can start on one for his wife 🙂 I’m stuck trying to decide on a color for hers…

So we knit and knit and knit, but sometimes the things stay on the needles! I can’t understand why even after all the stitches (I think) I put onto these lovely Technicolor Socks, I still feel like I’m a few rows from actually starting the toe decreases on the right sock!! I think the left sock is ready.

Maybe I’ll blame it on my long toes. Or on the US 0 needles.

Maybe I shouldn’t blame them at all. It’s so nice to have a mindless knitting project to cart around in my purse that’s not huge (here’s looking at you Turia)

or doesn’t need a book to travel with it (Bootstrap Socks that are ready for the heel)

That’s all the current WIPs and most of them are not travel worthy…maybe I should just finish these socks and turn the heel on the Bootstrap Socks so I can have more things to travel with and some empty needles?